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Armando Salguero: Miami Dolphins’ new uniforms look cleaner

Some of you will love it. Some of you will hate it. Some will think it dull while others will say the change is too drastic and even radical.

The Dolphins know there won’t be any consensus on their new uniform when it’s unveiled Thursday. They know this because pictures of the new-look jerseys and pants, as well as the helmet with new logo, were leaked Tuesday.

And, of course, reaction was mixed.

What else is new?

Everyone has an opinion, and in today’s interactive world, those opinions get amplified through the social media and Internet bullhorn.

Me?

I like it.

The Dolphins’ new look is clean. The Dolphins’ new look is something of a return to the past. It’s not cartoonish. Most importantly, it’s not over-the-top embarrassing.

This isn’t the ridiculous orange carpet. This isn’t the abominable T-Pain fight song. This isn’t the unwise Gator Day celebration.

Whatever you think of the new look, you cannot argue that it stretches the boundaries of good taste like those new University of Maryland football uniforms or even the combination the Jacksonville Jaguars just unveiled.

Have you seen that one?

The Jaguars’ new logo is nice. It’s bold. It’s somewhat intimidating, which I suppose is a plus for a professional football team. But that logo will be affixed to a helmet that is matte black toward the front and gold toward the back.

That helmet makes me wonder if the Jaguars equipment guy ran out of paint before finishing the job.

The Dolphins’ look, the brainchild of club chief executive officer Mike Dee, might not wow you. But it shouldn’t cause anyone to wince either.

The Dolphins’ look is straight-laced and as such, there will be no alternative uniforms used this year. The old orange jerseys have been mothballed. The aqua jerseys over aqua pants look of a decade ago also is not in the immediate plans.

It’s going to be all white at home and the aqua jersey and white pants combination on the road or whenever else it is warranted.

I especially like the white on white look. It’s South Florida. They represent.

The aqua numbers outlined with blue stripes seem easy to read. The past few years, the old look made the “6” and the “8” seem indistinguishable. It was hard telling the difference between a tackle by Karlos Dansby (58) and Kevin Burnett (56). And this happened a lot because the two combined for more than 200 tackles.

The numbers seem easier to distinguish now.

The aqua jersey will go with white numbers outlined mostly in orange.

About that orange — it has definitely taken a back seat to aqua and white. That’s a good thing. Orange is a wonderful fruit. But as a primary color for an NFL team, it needs to rest.

The Dolphins are giving it that rest for now. Maybe it’s because 1966 called and asked for its color back. Maybe it was marketing research. But orange now better serves the Dolphins as an outline color.

The logo is interesting to me because it is the most controversial change of the team’s new look. It’s also less cartoonish now. It’s no longer wearing the helmet with its signature “M.”

Some people say it looks like a squeezed wedge of Aquafresh toothpaste. Others mock that it looks like a whale. Others say the old logo made the dolphin seem strong and this one makes the animal seem weak.

Well, the truth is the Dolphins actually called marine biologists and asked at what point a dolphin is at its strongest. And the answer, the club tells me, is not after the mammal has breached the water’s surface, which is what the old logo depicts. Indeed, this is when the animal is most vulnerable.

The answer is the dolphin is strongest in nature just prior to the animal’s breach of the water when all its muscles are flexed. And that’s what the new logo is said to depict.

I cannot account for that. I’m just passing it along.

What I care about, what the Dolphins and their fans care about much more, is how the Dolphins play this season and going forward in their new uniforms.

If the Dolphins can’t end that four-year skid of losing seasons in 2013, fans will find a way to blame the players, the general manager, the coach and the new uniforms.

But if this offseason’s breakneck rush for talent results in a winning record in 2013, there will be fewer detractors of this uniform and logo change. Their dissent will drown in the echo of game day cheers.

And if the Dolphins get to the playoffs, you will think Dee came up with the greatest uniform since the Yankees began wearing pinstripes.

About Armando Salguero

Armando Salguero has covered South Florida sports since 1982. He's covered the Dolphins since 1990. He is a Pro Football Hall of Fame selector and annually votes on the Associated Press All-Pro team. He has worked nationally for ESPN and also writes general sports columns for the Miami Herald.

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